


A Long Way to Go

by dreamcp



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, POV Outsider, Pining, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 21:37:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12850020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamcp/pseuds/dreamcp
Summary: Loki's not exactly welcome when Thor brings him back to Earth after Asgard's destruction. But if Loki's willing to make amends, then Thor will stand by him until he succeeds.A story about Loki's redemption.





	A Long Way to Go

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly never thought I'd write for marvel. I've never rlly been as deep into it as other things and with the rate that all these movies come out it's honestly intimidating how fast fics end up clashing with canon. (And yet here I am, making up the marvel timeline as I go lol.) But watching Ragnarok (twice) plus a conversation with a friend made me want to write this pairing, and it ended up waaaaay longer than I intended. Hopefully someone enjoys it? 
> 
> One thing to note here, I pushed back Infinity War by like a year and a half in this fic. Other than that I think it's self explanatory. Thanks for reading!

It took longer than Thor would have liked to convince his fellow Avengers that Loki was no longer a threat to humanity.

A shipload of thousands of Asgardian refugees plus some extra aliens? Of course, Earth could find a place for them somewhere (after some negotiations through SHIELD and a large cover-up operation to explain away why a brand-new city of baffled aliens had suddenly sprung up in the middle of the Norwegian wilds). Loki turning over a new leaf, though, that was harder to accept. And his brother was just as wary of them, too, having expressed his apprehension towards returning to Midgard to Thor a few times during the flight.

Thor managed to convince SHIELD to hold off on imprisoning Loki, helped by his status as King of Asgard. Even Valkyrie spoke up at one point, loudly declaring that Thor and the rest of the Asgardians could just pack up and leave with all of their otherworldly and magical knowledge if Loki’s stay would be such an issue. SHIELD was quiet on the matter after that, merely telling Thor firmly to keep his brother in check and leaving it there.

So Loki could stay, but he was hardly welcomed among the other Avengers. Banner (once he’d finally turned back) was cordial towards him, if a bit hesitant. And the newer members who hadn't experienced Loki's wrath in New York firsthand were quicker to warm to him; Wanda in particular found Loki's company fascinating on the few occasions they interacted, intrigued by his magic. But the others, those who remembered the Battle of New York vividly, they were not so easily swayed.

Thor could not stay with the other Avengers in New York; he had a larger responsibility now, to protect his people and oversee the rebuilding of their lives. But his friends visited fairly frequently to see him, and Thor traveled when he could. 

Natasha was the first to address the issue they had all been dancing around. She cornered Thor in a room in the New Avengers Facility on one of his visits and asked plainly, “Do you really think it was a good idea to bring him back here?”

Thor sighed. He had been wondering when someone would bring it up. “You don't trust him, and I understand that. After all that he has done, neither should I. But he has helped me, he helped to save the Asgardians when he could have run away.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes. “You know better than anyone that he can't be trusted.”

“I know better than you that he can,” Thor snapped. Sparks flew from his fingers unintentionally.

Natasha glanced at his hands, then back up. “Fine. He's your responsibility either way. Don't expect me to be surprised if he goes rogue again,” she said before stalking out of the room.

Thor stared after her. She wasn't entirely wrong, as loathful as Thor was to admit it. After all, Loki was the God of Mischief, wasn't he?

He found Loki in his half-finished chambers when he returned to Norway. His brother raised an eyebrow when he entered. “Something has you riled, I see—”

“I've placed my trust in you, Loki.” Thor cut him off. Loki actually looked taken aback; whether that was because of the bluntness of the sentiment or the sentiment itself, Thor couldn't tell. “Do not betray it again.”

Loki was silent for a few moments. He stood from the desk. “Who have you spoken with?”

“Natasha. Black Widow.”

“Ah,” said Loki. He smiled bitterly. “I cannot say I blame her for her distrust. I can't blame any of them.”

“They have a good reason for it,” Thor admitted, hating the way Loki’s jaw clenched in response. “But they do not know what you have done since, how you have helped me _and_ our people. I want them to trust you as well, but I cannot do that until I am certain my own faith in you won't be wasted. Not again.”

“I do not _need_ their trust,” Loki's eyes narrowed, “Especially when I know they are unhappy to give it in the first place.”

“It's up to you, I suppose. But you are my brother, and they are my good friends. I’d be pleased to at least see you all getting along. And should something happen to me, there will be no one left to lead Asgard but you; the Avengers are strong allies to have on your side. But,” Thor swallowed. He could talk strategy and politics. Sentiment, though; this was far more difficult. “More than anything, _I_ want to believe in you. I want to push aside this worthless rivalry between us. I want to believe that you will have my back, as I will yours.”

Silence stretched between them. Loki fixed Thor with a hard look, as though trying to discern his true intentions, as though Thor were joking. Thor let himself be open. He had nothing to hide, and he spoke the truth.

At long last, Loki lifted his chin. “Alright. You want loyalty, you will have it.”

“I want trust,” Thor corrected. At that, Loki smiled faintly. 

“...You will have both.” Loki extended a hand to Thor. He took it without hesitation.

Thor would not ever doubt Loki’s motives from then on.

~~~

That still left most of the Avengers to convince, though. Explaining brotherly trust sounded superficial to most humans, Thor found. They thought him biased. How could he explain to them that Loki felt truly like his brother for the first time since they were children? That they were rebuilding that trust from where it had fallen ages ago, weakened in youth from their stark differences driving them apart and finally snapped by betrayal?

Incredibly, Steve seemed to understand to a degree. Thor remembered his attempts to locate his missing friend from before his departure, and though he was not certain of the events that had taken place since, he knew Steve had succeeded in finding him. He also knew that he had missed quite a heated debate in his absence, though it seemed to have been resolved peacefully. Steve felt something similar for his friend, Thor was sure, and perhaps that was why he was willing to give Loki another chance.

On another visit to the compound, Steve joined Thor in the kitchen for breakfast. Out of everyone who stayed there, they were the two who ate the most, and they sometimes competed to see who could keep down the most food or drink between them. But when Thor gestured towards the fridge with a grin, Steve laughed and said, “Nah, not this time. I've got something on my mind.”

Thor sat and listened without interruption as Steve went through the motions voicing his concerns about Loki staying on Earth. When Steve finally paused, Thor quietly said, “You aren't the first to come to me. I know it is difficult to understand why I trust him, and I do not expect you to now. But I do.”

“Why’s that?” asked Steve. His tone wasn't aggressive, merely curious, and Thor took that as a good sign.

“I cannot explain it as thoroughly as I'd like,” Thor said. He had tried to put it into words before to little success. “But he is my _brother,_ and it is there that my trust stems from.”

Steve didn't reply, merely pushing his breakfast around with his fork. Sensing the conversation was over, Thor cleaned his dishes and made to leave.

“Talk to Bucky before you go,” Steve called out, and Thor turned to face him. “Maybe introduce him to Loki. If Bucky trusts him, then I may too.”

“I killed Tony’s parents,” said Bucky with a hollow laugh when Thor sought him out. “And they still let me join the club eventually. I’d say anything’s possible for your brother.”

Thor wasn't sure that was what Steve had intended Bucky to say, but in a strange (and possibly terrible) way, it gave him hope. He invited Bucky to visit the new Asgard, and Bucky accepted, only requesting that Steve join him. Thor was happy to host them both, and within days they had returned to the emerging city.

Thor could not lead them around, however; he had to find Loki. He placed the two men in Valkyrie’s care in the training grounds; she was eager to try her hand at beating the so-called super soldiers. They were happy to go all out, at least once she had knocked Steve on his back in four seconds flat.

Loki was most likely in the library. Much of Asgardian literature had been lost in the Ragnarok, aside from anything the people had stashed beneath their cloaks when fleeing their homes. Many had graciously donated their books to the crown for the preservation of Asgardian literature; in return, Thor had elected to design the new library for public use rather than merely for royalty. The large leftover space was quickly being filled with Midgardian literature, from poetry to historical accounts and everything between. Thor hoped that this would someday lead to a better understanding of Midgard for his people, and they might one day bridge the gap between their worlds. In the meantime, though, Thor focused on settling Asgard into its new home.

Thor found Loki speaking with Heimdall near the back of the library. He waited until they finished their conversation, giving a respectful nod to Heimdall as the man passed before approaching his brother.

“We have guests whom I would like you to meet,” Thor told him. Loki’s back was to him as his brother scanned the shelves.

“And which guests are these?” came the reply.

“Steve— the Captain and his closest friend.”

Loki's hand stilled on a book’s spine. “And what makes you think the Captain would like to speak with me?”

“I want you to speak with his friend, actually,” Thor said, and Loki finally turned to eye him suspiciously. “He found himself in a similar position to yours some time ago. Perhaps he has some advice for you. If not, it is at least a chance to gain favor with Steve, should his friend take a liking to you.”

“Very well,” Loki agreed, appearing aloof. Loki's quickened pace as they returned to the training grounds, however, hinted otherwise. 

Loki hung back as Thor approached the three brawling in the ring. He tapped Bucky’s shoulder when the man retreated from Valkyrie a bit and gestured towards his brother. Bucky stared him down for a few moments; Loki returned the gaze unphased. Finally Bucky nodded and walked off to the side of the small arena. Thor joined the fight in his place, finding a suitable sword and attempting to unbalance Valkyrie while she was distracted (unsuccessfully, of course).

Steve raised his eyes when he saw Thor, and presumably noticed Bucky was missing. At the next break, he asked, “So they're talking?” Thor nodded in response. “Hmm.”

Thor didn't see either of the men again until dinner several hours later. Both were already at the large table, where they sat across from each other.

“It went well?” muttered Thor as he took his place next to Loki. His brother shrugged and said nothing, which could really mean anything. Thor would have to ask him later.

That, as it turned out, would be unnecessary, as halfway through dinner the Captain’s main course scared him nearly to death by springing up and running out of the dining hall. Thor, meanwhile, took a single bite of his meal and found it laced with so many strong spices that he cried. Loki and Bucky shared twin smug grins.

Things had apparently gone brilliantly.

On their departure a few evenings later, Steve extended a hand to Loki, who accepted it carefully. Neither could forget, but Steve could forgive.

~~~

“Diceratops is back then, huh?” Tony had said shortly after Thor returned to Earth. Thor had nodded and tried to explain his brother’s change of heart, but Tony brushed him off and told him just to keep Loki away from the compound; something about replacing windows when people were thrown through them. With that, Tony never brought up Loki again.

At least not until after Steve had made his peace with Loki. On a later visit to the compound, Tony expressed an interest in seeing how New Asgard was coming along. Thor brought the inventor back with him, and they spent much of the day walking the streets as Tony gave advice on where and how to improve the city. On returning to the palace, they bumped— quite literally— into Loki. 

Thor was asking Tony about the possible fusion of Midgardian technology and Asgardian magic to use as a stepping stone towards recreating lost Asgardian technology. Tony was optimistic, but his lack of magic knowledge meant he couldn't really confirm one way or another if it would work.

“You've got magic, don't you big guy? You're basically an exposed wire already, just a thousand times more painful,” Tony said, taking a hand out of his pocket to gesture.

The wording was somewhat lost on Thor, but he got the gist. “My magic is limited, as it were. I never paid much attention to the magical arts beyond what I needed to use lightning at my disposal.”

Tony pouted. “Alright, that makes it tougher, but hey, you're not the only Asgardian here anymore. Know anyone who's really good with— oof.”

Upon rounding a corner, Tony suddenly collided with someone. Thor rested a hand on his back to balance him and went to apologize when he caught the surprised eyes of his brother. It took only a moment for Tony to recover, and the moment he laid eyes on Loki he froze.

“Loki, we have a visitor,” Thor cleared his throat. The two other men were staring each other down, both motionless as though the first to move was the first to die. “...You remember Tony Stark?”

“Vividly,” replied Loki through his teeth. Thor winced. He’d forgotten to inform Loki of Tony’s arrival, getting sucked into discussion with Tony immediately upon returning. He knew Loki was caught off guard, and when Loki felt unbalanced he grew angry to cover his vulnerability. “Welcome to our home, Mr. Stark. If you’ll excuse me…”

Loki skirted around the two of them and stepped quickly down the hallway. Making a split-second decision, Thor called out, “Actually Loki, we could use your assistance here!”

Loki stopped in his tracks and turned to half-face Thor. Ignoring Tony’s hissed _What,_ Thor pressed on. “Tony and I were just discussing experiments with magic, but I am far from an expert in that field. You, on the other hand… well, I know few others with as much knowledge as you.”

Perhaps Thor was laying it on a bit thick, but Loki thrived in praise, and if he was to win Loki’s forgiveness later he would need to patch things up now. And if he could fix things between Loki and another Avenger in the process…

Loki glanced between Thor and Tony. The mortal still looked apprehensive, and Thor elbowed him gently (though he still nearly knocked Tony over.) Rubbing his arm, Tony sighed. “Yeah, Thor’s asking me about fusing our tech with Asgardian magic to see about reinventing some of your Asgardian tech.”

Loki turned his head to the side, thinking, before facing the two fully. “And Mr. Stark would like _my_ help?” he asked doubtfully.

“Tony always works with the best,” Thor answered instead. That was true as far as Thor knew (Tony was wealthy, why wouldn't he) and Loki truly was unparalleled as a mage. 

Tony sighed, giving a dirty look to Thor. “Know anything about Earth tech, Prancer?

Loki’s eyebrows furrowed. “Currently not as much as I would like, but I can learn.”

“Good enough. You got somewhere to work?”

Loki led the way through the palace to a doorway in his chambers, which he opened into a large room furnished with desks that were covered in papers and books. Loki cleared one of the desks and gestured towards it.

“Not exactly one of my workshops, but it’ll do,” Tony said. “Nice place, high ceilings, that's cool. Open windows, that's a good idea. Glass windows always break when you're doing lab stuff, never put in glass windows. So, where do you wanna start?”

Loki shrugged. “Did you bring along something to work on, or is all of this to be simply theoretical?”

It was well disguised, but a jab at Tony was present in Loki's tone. Thor glanced at his brother warningly, but Tony didn't appear to mind. He seemed to have the opposite reaction, relaxing his stance as he pulled a mobile phone out of his jacket pocket. 

Loki snorted. “And what am I supposed to do with that?” 

Tony took a few steps forward and placed the phone on the desk in front of Loki. “What, you backing out now? You ask for something to work on and I give you something to work on, what's the problem?”

“The _problem_ is that I cannot work with this,” Loki scoffed. “It's already finished. If an item is to run on magic, it has to be made _with_ magic. I can't just channel magic into something and expect it to work when the magic has no place to go.”

Tony removed his sunglasses, and Thor saw the last of his tension dissipate. The cogs were turning now. “So we need to start from scratch, that's what you're saying?”

_“We?”_

“Yeah, _we,_ like I’m letting you have all the fun building some magic toy on your own? You got any scraps around here?”

The barest hint of a smile graced Loki's face, and Thor relaxed. He excused himself before the two grew too engrossed in their discussion to hear him, and wandered back the way they had come.

That had certainly gone better than expected. Not that he expected Tony to completely forget about Loki’s actions simply because they were working together, but the two took to their new project much quicker that Thor thought they would. 

Though really, should he be surprised? The two had an awful lot in common. Both were clever, resourceful, proud, and of course had a flair for the dramatic.

~~~

“So you brought him back, I hear,” Clint said casually before taking another sip of beer.

Thor sighed and put down his own bottle. The routine was getting tiresome at this point. But Clint had spent several months with his family, and this was his first moment alone with Thor since the god’s arrival on Earth.

“I did,” he said, waiting expectantly for Clint’s rant.

Clint swirled the beer in his bottle a few times before speaking up. “Okay.”

What?

“...Okay?” Thor questioned. Out of everyone, he had expected Clint to have the strongest objection, since he was the one who had been directly manipulated by Loki.

“I've been away awhile, you know,” Clint said. “But I've been keeping up with you guys still. ‘Tasha told me how you managed to convince just about everyone that he's alright. Even her.”

This was news to Thor. “Natasha?”

Clint shrugged. “She said Loki wrote her a letter of apology or something, since they hadn't met in person for him to apologize. I got one too a few days later. Aside from that he's kept his distance, which I know we both appreciate. He's a hell of a writer, by the way.”

“I… was not aware of this,” Thor admitted.

“You didn't encourage him to do it?” Clint asked, raising his eyebrows. When Thor shook his head, he hummed. “Good. Seems it's genuine then. Listen, Natasha’s always gonna be wary, that's just who she is. So am I. But we've forgiven him as much as we're able, and he doesn't have to worry about his head getting chewed off by one of us. Invite him down here sometime though, I wanna beat his ass in a brawl. I've still got some feelings to work out of my system.”

Loki merely laughed when Thor relayed Clint’s message. “I’m not much of a fighter, I believe he knows that. But he's welcome to try and outsmart me anytime.”

~~~

Thor saw more of Tony Stark after his first visit to New Asgard than he had even when Thor had briefly stayed in the old Stark Tower in New York. Whatever he and Loki were working on, Tony was deeply invested in it.

At least once a week Tony would drop by, clapping Thor on the back with as much force as he could muster (not much, of course, by Asgardian standards) and ambling down the halls to find Loki's workshop. There he would stay for hours on end, even longer than a day if the two lost track of time. Thor didn't intrude on their meetings often, but curiosity drove him to drop in once or twice. 

He was struck by the fire in the eyes of the two thinkers. They often spoke too quickly for him to keep up with the finer points, but at the very least _they_ knew what they were doing. How they had learned to work in tandem so easily, Thor would never know. The moment Tony and Loki set their minds to something, it seemed, they acted as one.

“Thor, Thor, hey!” Tony said, catching sight of the king on one occasion a few months later and beckoning him to the desk. “Look look, I think we've got it. Watch.”

Tony nodded to Loki, who let his hand hover over a small bronze-colored contraption. Both the contraption and Loki's hand glowed dimly with a yellowish light, and suddenly lights all around the room lit up at once.

“Synched light bulbs lit and connected by a magical power source, all controlled through this little thing,” Tony said, pointing to the bronze object. “It's basically an off switch, turn ‘em off in the day and turn ‘em on when it's dark. No electricity bill too, that's a huge plus. Man, this could _really_ be a big step forward in the clean energy race, no more burning coal or fuel. If we could get cars to run on this kind of thing? The entire clean energy debate would be _over…”_

Tony rambled on. Thor didn't entirely understand what he was talking about, and it likely wasn't important. No, Thor was more interested in Loki.

He was smiling. Not a fake-charming smile, not a sneer, no. Loki stared down at the table with a genuinely amused grin as Tony spoke.

“Impressive, Tony,” Thor talked over Tony and caught his brother’s eye. “Excellent work, Loki.”

Loki dipped his head in acknowledgment, but his gaze soon found Tony as the man began to prattle on about other ideas for their next project. 

Thor felt quite out of place if he were honest, so he excused himself. But the visit had left him in high spirits.

Loki was changing before his eyes. The bitter rival was becoming a trustworthy confidant and closer-than-close brother. And Loki's interactions with Thor’s friends were good for him, it was obvious: his apologies to Natasha and Clint showed he felt remorse and was determined to fix his mistakes, his short time with Bucky had given him confidence in his ability to change, and his new friendship with Tony challenged and bettered him in ways Thor could not.

“You are thriving,” Thor told Loki after Tony had left. Loki snorted.

“I am no longer in exile or hiding, if that's what you mean.” Loki leaned against his desk and folded his arms.

“Well, that's true. But look at what you've been up to. Did you not save the future of humanity with Stark today?”

“Stark tends to exaggerate, I find,” Loki drawled.

“But you are happy doing this?” Thor pressed.

“...I am.”

Loki sounded as though he were surprised by his own answer. Judging by his expression, he was.

Thor smiled. “That is all I wanted to know.”

~~~

A year and three months after the Asgardians first settled on Earth, Thor brought Loki along to an Avengers get-together for the first time.

Things were not quite smooth at the outset. Loki, despite his work to make amends, apparently didn't like the idea of seeing all his former enemies in one place and was quite tense. He kept glancing at Natasha and Clint before quickly averting his eyes. Bucky, perhaps also noticing his discomfort, eventually approached him and started up a conversation.

Thor was quickly sucked into the company of his friends and stopped worrying about his brother; Loki was an adult, and if anything he would take offense to Thor’s concern. Aside from hearing Tony’s booming “Loki! Good to see ya, I’ve got an idea I want to run by you” early in the afternoon, Thor didn't spare him another thought.

Some hours later, when much of the present company had moved from the kitchen to the couches to chat, Steve's voice rang out: “Hey, Bruce! Didn't expect to see you out of the lab so soon.”

Thor craned his head to see Bruce approaching the group. He murmured greetings along with the rest of the group as the scientist sat down.

“Yeah, well, I probably would have been longer if Tony and Loki hadn't taken over half the lab for whatever they're working on,” he said, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table and plopping down on the floor. “I couldn't focus on anything with the noise they were making.”

“Again?” Wanda smiled from her armchair. “Tony flies to New Asgard weekly to work with Loki on their projects, and the minute he gets Loki _here_ they go and work on them more?”

“Tony's been awful excited since he and Loki started working together,” Steve said as an aside to Thor. “He keeps going on and on about stuff Loki's able to do with his magic, how the two of them are gonna change the future of technology or something.”

Tony singing the praises of someone other than himself? Thor certainly was surprised. “Tony has told me much of the same. He showed me something they had been working on a few months ago.”

“Only one thing?” Natasha asked, tilting her head. “They've been plotting together for over a year now, that's all they've got to show for it?”

“I have seen a few other products,” protested Thor, struggling to actually remember anything specific from the vague, half-finished hunks of material that had slowly covered nearly every surface in Loki's workroom. But Natasha was right. What could they have been doing during all that time holed away? “Does Tony not keep anything here?”

“He spends all of his time at your place, why would he?” Bruce shrugged. “We all assumed Loki had everything. They must still be in the conceptual stages, I guess.”

The conversation moved onto other topics, but Thor was still stuck.

“You disappeared quite quickly with Tony,” Thor told Loki when they had retired for the night. The accommodations Tony had provided for them were near together, and they had wound up drinking in peaceful silence in the armchairs in Thor’s room. 

The corner of Loki's mouth quirked up. “He was interested to know whether the magic fused into Midgardian technology would last or if it would run dry. I told him it would eventually, but that he certainly wouldn't live to see it. He seemed satisfied with that.”

“And that was all you did in that time? You two were gone for hours, I hardly saw either of you at all,” Thor chuckled.

Loki smiled faintly. “You would be surprised, when T— Stark focuses on something, he does not let it go easily.” Loki stared up at the ceiling in silence for several minutes. Thor felt himself beginning to drift off— the long day and the alcohol he'd consumed were combining to lull him to sleep. He was roused before it could take him, however, when Loki spoke again, softer than before. “We spoke, mainly.”

“What of?” asked Thor drowsily. 

Loki waved a hand. “The usual.”

Their projects, then, Thor presumed. He took another swig of his drink.

“Our lives. Our activities. Anything that interested us.”

Thor paused. He lowered his drink from his mouth. “...Oh?”

“Mm,” Loki hummed. “We talk a lot when he comes to visit.”

“I didn't realize the two of you had taken such an interest in each other's personal lives.”

Loki laughed bitterly. Thor frowned. Why did Loki take offense to that?

“Do you often speak of your daily lives when he visits the palace?” Thor pressed. Loki had him intrigued now, and if he was to get any answers it had to be while Loki was just inebriated enough to lower his defenses some.

“Sometimes. Or we bond over shared experiences. As it happens, we’ve both had some trouble regarding our fathers,” Loki said with a pained expression, which melted away as he slipped into thought. A few seconds later he added, “He told me he forgave me, some time ago. He was the only one to actually say it. I appreciated that.”

Thor listened to Loki speak, surprised by the honesty coming from his brother. Either Loki was more drunk than he had assumed, or Loki had been meaning to get this off of his chest for some time.

“You two have grown close, then,” murmured Thor. “I had assumed you two had become friends, but I was not aware of how deep it truly ran.”

Loki's bitter laugh returned. “It was not as easy as you think. Tony seems to be the type of man you either love or hate, no in-between.”

Thor was stumped. Again with the strange hostility? And since when had Loki called Tony by his first name?

Thor watched Loki stare into his bottle. He ran through the conversation again in his head.

“Oh.”

Loki looked up, his dark green eyes glaring daggers at Thor.

“Have you told Tony?”

Loki stood abruptly. “No. He will never know.”

“And why is that?” Thor stood also, laying a hand on Loki's arm. Loki swatted it away.

“Your friends have barely accepted me as it is! Why should I endanger what little trust I have earned by courting Tony? They’ll think I'm attempting to use him, to _hurt_ him. And as for Tony—!”

Loki cut himself off, breaking eye contact with Thor and casting his gaze downward. His fists clenched in anger, and likely frustration as well. Thor wanted to reach out, but touching Loki at his most vulnerable would only make him more distant.

“If you think this is best,” began Thor softly, “then I will say nothing. But _please,_ think of how this secret-keeping will affect you as well.”

“I _am,”_ Loki hissed. Hurt shone plainly in his eyes now, and Thor wondered how long Loki had been holding his tongue already. “If I am silent, nothing will change.”

Thor pondered when Loki had grown to mind other people's feelings as he watched his back disappear through the door.

“Love does not change either, brother,” Thor said to an empty room.

~~~

It took Thor nearly a month of careful pressing before Loki finally opened up to him about Tony. He told Thor about how Tony could relate to his strained relationship with Odin, how that finally gave Loki an outlet to voice his frustrations and regrets.

“And he understands!” Loki had said. “He doesn't offer worthless platitudes to make me ‘feel better,’ because we both know how useless they are! I can _talk_ to someone about what I’ve been feeling for the first time and not feel judged in any way!”

He told Thor about Tony's intelligence, how it rivaled his own and even sometimes surpassed his; Loki could _learn_ from Tony. He told Thor about Tony's wit, able to keep up with and bounce off of Loki’s own. He told Thor about Tony's charm, how he flirted lightly with Loki and could even make him laugh. 

“It's practically second nature for him,” Loki said through his teeth. “And it's _working.”_

But still, Loki refused to admit what his heart was saying. Thor begged him, reasoned with him, tried to say that Tony wouldn't visit or flirt so often if he didn't have a vested interest in Loki. And Tony had _never_ spoken about his father with any of the Avengers willingly, Loki was clearly special, couldn't he see?

Loki refused to try. “I won't damage the delicate balance we've formed over some silly emotions. Tony values my friendship.”

Thor didn't have time to argue with Loki for much longer. One day, the skies suddenly went dark, and Loki went pale.

“Thanos.”

Thor left Heimdall in charge of his people and brought Loki and Valkyrie to the Avengers. They had little time to form a plan, but they would need all the help they could get. People Thor had never met before turned up to support them: two insect-men, a cat-man, and a group of space travelers calling themselves the “guardians” of the galaxy. Even Doctor Strange left his mysterious seclusion to come to their aid.

One of the Guardians, Gamora, spoke of her experience with Thanos and how to deal with him. The hopeless situation that they had been faced with could, it seemed, be met with hope. It would take everything they had available, but with luck, Thanos could be defeated.

There was little time to dawdle if they were to stop him, though, and Earth’s last line of defense rushed to prepare. Still, mere minutes before their departure, Thor caught sight of Loki and Tony standing off to the side of the helipad. Tony had already stepped into his armor, but his visor was raised. He was listening to Loki as he spoke. Thor couldn't make out any words, but when Loki had finished he could make out Tony’s mouth say “you too,” or something to that extent.

Tony reached out halfway to Loki before stopping and letting his arm fall. He smiled cockily at Loki, but Thor could see him clenching the hand he had reached out with. Then, the visor slid over Tony’s face and Iron Man took to the skies.

Loki watched him go. He seemed to sense Thor’s eyes and turned to him. He shook his head. Thor felt frustration flood through him. 

“That was your _chance,”_ he hissed when Loki approached. “Our survival is not guaranteed, especially that of the mortals, and you could not tell him—!”

“It is not the time,” Loki hissed back. “Thanos is our concern, there is no room for anything else.”

Thor shook his head. He loved his brother, but he could be so _stupid._

In more ways than one, it seemed.

Loki fought alongside Thor for much of the battle. Were it not for the impending doom, Thor would consider it the most fun he’d had in ages. Enemies fell in heaps at their feet. 

But when Thanos himself appeared, chaos broke loose. Thor found himself separated from his brother by waves of foes. He struggled to reach Thanos— perhaps he could slow him down— but he found himself overwhelmed.

Exhaustion weighed on him heavily as he summoned another round of lightning to clear his path. They had been fighting Thanos for hours, they could not hold out much longer…

A deafening roar sounded from above. Thor craned his neck to see Thanos on the building where he had taken up position. And darting around him all on his own, dodging for dear life…

“Loki!” Thor shouted. He summoned his remaining strength to take a running start before jumping has hard as he could, using his lightning to propel him further. He was just able to land on the building with a hard _thud._

The noise attracted the attention of both Thanos and Loki; but while Thor prepared another onslaught of electricity, Thanos took his chance and struck Loki. Thor's brother crumpled to the ground. 

Rage rippled through Thor, engulfed him. He directed it all at Thanos in the form of lightning, causing him to stagger. Thor cast a desperate glance at his brother's body, which laid still and— shimmered.

An illusion. Relief washed over Thor. He continued to distract Thanos intermittently before a piercing screech sounded through the air. Gamora leaped onto Thanos’s back and dove her blades deep into the side of his neck. Thanos roared and tried to throw her off, but Gamora used his momentum to swing around and stab him in the front as well.

With a final roar, the Mad Titan fell dead.

Thor stared, breathing heavily. The dust began to settle. Below him, he could hear the cries of the leaderless forces as they panicked and retreated back to whatever dark reaches of space they came from.

Gamora retrieved her swords from Thanos’s body and stared down at him silently. Her eyes narrowed before glancing up at Thor. He nodded. She smiled.

The sound of Tony's suit reached Thor's ears. He landed on the roof just as Loki's body shimmered and disappeared for good. The visor remained in place as Tony stared at the spot where the illusion had been. Thor moved to approach him, but Tony’s voice stopped him.

“Where is he.”

Tony's voice was low and barely restrained, even through his suit’s speaker. If nothing previously had convinced Thor of Tony's own love for Loki, that one sentence said it all.

“Thor,” said Tony, his voice rising in pitch. Panic, Thor realized. The suit turned to face Thor and stared him down evenly. Inside, though, Tony was on the verge of falling apart.

“Tony,” came a weary voice. Both heads turned to see Loki standing several yards away. His robes were ripped in a few places and there was a cut bleeding on his forehead, along with a few smaller scrapes. He looked weighed down with fatigue and was a bit unsteady on his feet, but he was alive.

“Oh Jesus—” Tony muttered. The suit opened up and Tony ran for Loki, stumbling once but finding his footing. Loki could hardly react before Tony had thrown himself at him, wrapping his arms around Loki's taller form.

Loki gripped Tony tightly, resting his head on the shorter man’s shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut. Thor sighed in relief. Now, finally, Loki might understand.

~~~

~~~

Loki breathed in the lingering scent of metal and sweat on Tony. It was hardly pleasant, but he had Tony in his arms, and he was alive. They both were. Thanos was merely a footnote in their lives now, and he would never threaten any of them again.

Tony was shorter, but he was warm, and he held fast to Loki. Though unused to such physical contact, Loki melted into Tony's touch. He would laugh at himself if he had the strength; oh, how _far_ he had fallen.

“Don't… _ever…_ play dead again,” Tony scolded breathlessly. “Without letting me know first.”

“Noted,” Loki murmured. 

Tony pulled back just enough to hit Loki on the arm. “I _mean_ it, asshole.”

“Yes, I know! I heard…” Loki trailed off, his eyebrows drawing close with concern. A long gash lined the side of Tony's face. Blood trickled from it slowly. Tony looked unaffected by it, but it made Loki's stomach tighten.

“Tony, you’re injured.”

Tony shook his head. “It's a scratch, it's nothing. Listen—”

“It's hardly nothing, let me see—”

“You're not listening!” Tony protested. He ran a hand through his hair. “Just— Christ—”

Tony batted Loki's hand away from his face and gripped Loki's collar. He tugged, and Loki was surprised enough to be yanked down with zero resistance. Tony threw his arm around Loki's shoulders and pulled him close, covering Loki's mouth with his own.

Loki's thoughts all melted away immediately. He acted on instinct alone, framing Tony's face with his hands and kissing Tony with as much force as he could muster.

Which wasn't a huge amount, unfortunately. After so long spent fighting for his life, Loki felt nearly dead on his feet. His legs started to give way and he broke the kiss to grip Tony's shoulders.

“Woah woah, okay,” Tony said as he steadied Loki, his arms slipping behind his back. “Let's get you somewhere safe before you collapse.”

“I was not through with you,” Loki protested.

Even through the blood and dirt, Tony grinned. “I sure hope not. But we've got time.”

Loki laid eyes on Thor over Tony's shoulder. His brother's gaze was on the group of their allies and friends who had already reached the top of the building, but he glanced over and met Loki's eyes. Thor raised his eyebrows, then winked and smiled before turning back.

Loki smiled. He owed his brother an apology, it seemed. He’d been right all along.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestlyy the whole reason this fic got so long was because I wasn't satisfied with how Thor's portrayed in so many fics, even in in the year of our lord 2017. He's more than a dumb, brutish jock-type! He's a good brother and genuinely funny and overall a smart and kind guy! Watch Ragnarok!!
> 
> Like 80% of this was written past 11pm and i barely edit anything i write so if this is a mess I'm sorry lol


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